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I love Dragon Age Origins. I really do. And Mass Effect too. They are slick, engaging games that hold my attention, more or less through to the ending sequence. BioWare has delivered the goods recently, ladling out Mass Effect 2 and threatening to release a followup expansion to Dragon Age. What is there not to like? Well, a lot of things. The silly dialogue with its stilted choice system. And the story. Snort. Right. But …

My greatest fear is to be trapped alone in a confined space with a blind human, in total darkness. They have a heightened sense of smell and hearing, and are searching for me. I’m not actually sure where this specific fear comes from, but so far Penumbra: Overture is ticking two out of three…

Review by Lewis B Beneath A Steel Sky: Remastered Developer: Revolution Software Publisher: Revolution Software/Apple Released: 23rd September 2009 (App Store) Available for: iPhone and iPod Touch Time Played: Finished Verdict: 4/5 Thumbs Up Revolution Software really have set a precedent on the iPhone for adventures games. Beneath A Steel Sky: Remastered has a wonderful control scheme, fantastic dialogue, challenging puzzles and all for a fabulous price tag. Anyone who owns an iPhone who …

GP reports that Philadelphia newspaper The Bulletin has published an article warning parents of the Morningstar’s recent involvement in videogame development. Apparently Lucifer has decided that games are a great way to slurp up tender new souls, what with all the angel killing and stuff in games like Bayonetta. The article warns against pacts with the devil, explains why it’s mean to kill angels, alerts us to The Adversary’s new tool, and calls out various …

I hadn’t heard of Hot Blooded Gaming until this morning, when GP linked to this piece by Kreyg, the site’s founder. A thoughtful, melancholy article about how videogames acted as a guiding force in his life – a protector during dark times and a limitless resource of joy whenever it was needed. I’ve always felt that it takes real courage to write articles like this one, to wear your heart on your sleeve the way …

Having still not plucked the courage up to brave Penumbra: Black Plague, I was pleasantly surprised to see that horror masters, Frictional Games, have released a new and really quite brilliant teaser trailer for their upcoming cack-your-pants-fest, Amnesia: The Dark Descent. I’ve been following their (very interesting) blog for a few months now and this is looking and sounding very promising indeed. If Penumbra: Overture is anything to go by, I’m scared already. Full details …

The prognosis is dire, I’m afraid. It’s time for PC gaming to start a heavy drinking and smoking habit and to make a list of “Things I Want to Do Before The End.” It’s terminal cancer, and not the good kind either. It’s the kind that will most certainly kill it, but slowly and only after putting it through a protracted and agonizing battle with false cures, hopes, and pain. The cancer might even go into remission once or twice, but it will triumph in the end.

We’ve heard this prediction before, of course, and as a passionate PC gamer, I was always quick to dismiss it. PCs offered prettier and deeper games than their console brethren. After a month with my new PS3, however, I’ve decided that the end of the PC age finally approacheth, and right soon.

Speaking at DICE (thanks Kotaku), Activision/Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick apologized for said he didn’t mean it when he advocated “taking all the fun out of making videogames,” and that “an atmosphere of skepticism, pessimism, and fear represented ‘mission accomplished’” for his developers. Words are cheap; you’re gonna have to do better than that, Bobby. Also: salad, motherfucker. It’s what’s for dinner.

So Oles Shishkovtsov, CTO of 4A Games – the new Ukrainian developer behind the upcoming Metro 2033 – has reiterated his insistence that S.T.A.L.K.E.R.’s (proprietary) X-Ray engine is not being used, in whole or in part, on Metro 2033. Of course, Shishkovtsov created the X-Ray engine, and left GSC Game World just before the first STALKER game shipped. And I hate to say it, but Metro 2033 looks a lot like STALKER. A lot. Not …

For those who don’t follow such things, a bring-you-up-to-speed: the land of Australia, which I will never visit on account of the Huntsman Spider, does not have a rating classification for “mature” games – what we in the States would call M-rated games, or what our PEGI-using friends in Grand Europa would call 18-rated, or what Australia would call R-18+ if it had such a rating, which it does not. Why not? South Australian Attorney …

Cipher Prime, the two-person indie responsible for the hypnotically beautiful Auditorium, have announced their newest musical puzzler creation, Fractal. They haven’t revealed much yet, but Auditorium was so elegant, so special, that I can only hope/assume the best for the company’s ongoing work. If you haven’t yet played it, check it out – more to come on Fractal as it’s revealed.

According to Apples latest annual report, 20.7 million phones were sold during 2009, representing an increase of 78% compared to 2008, and generating a total revenue of $6.8 billion dollars. Net sales of other products and services increased to $696 million dollars predominantly, according to their report, because of an increase to net sales of third party digital content and applications…

A while ago, porn star Ron Jeremy talked some smack about videogames during a debate at the CES show in Vegas. So there was some uproar about that. Now Kotaku hosts a short guest editorial from Jeremy, in which he says, “I am not trying to knock the the video game industry, I am just standing up for the porn industry.” That would be fine, Ron, if it weren’t for the fact that you’re knocking …

After playing Bioshock 2 for several hours, a day before its launch, my friend decided to write a review for it (which was very good I might add). Subsequently, an argument ensued between both of us today where I suggested that the review of a game should not be written until it has been entirely completed…